Outlook: While Mules return 16 letter winners, none had significant time as a starter. When Wood says his outlook for the team is to get better, he doesn’t mean it as a cliche.

“We’re so young and inexperienced, but it’s a lot of fun to watch them gel like this,” said Wood. “Our kids, they know the expectations, and they’ve worked extremely hard in the offseason to kind of stomp out all those issues about inexperience.”

Derrick Sheperd — the cousin of Bedford quarterback Tom Sheperd — could anchor the defense, while Wyszczelski will play a pivotal role in the development of offensive line.

Wood’s main goal for the Mules is overall growth, which could serve as a reflection for how they work through adversity.

“We’re going to find out things about them every single day in practice because of that inexperience,” Wood said. “But day in and day out, we get a lot out of them.”